The Public Servants’ Prayer

Matthew November 12th, 2007

General Assembly

Wow! Is it almost July already? The Indiana legislative session concluded at the end of April. This session was quite different from the last two. The legislative branch of government was in split control, with the Senate controlled by the Republicans and the House controlled by the Democrats. Bipartisanship takes on a whole new meaning when you have to work with the other party to see your bill become law. There were several issues that had the potential of being very divisive. Through such pressure, God allowed many opportunities for discipleship and evangelism.

Tours

In the last newsletter I invited all who would be interested to come take a tour of the Statehouse and meet with their legislators. I am grateful to all who took me up on the offer. It was tremendous success. On one such occasion, a pastor was coming to meet his legislators. After meeting his representative, we went to meet his senator. However, at the very time of our scheduled appointment, the senator was informed that his daughter had just been tragically killed in a car accident. As a result of this, the pastor and his church have been able to pray specifically for this senator in his time of need. This situation illustrates the need for prayer for these God-ordained rulers, but also demonstrates the need to cultivate relationships with them. Ministry flows through relationship!
New Website

The first part of the year I attended a conference presented by the Christian Law Association. I learned much about the legal/technical issues ministries face in the high-tech world of computers and internet. To make a long story short, I have now transferred publicservantsprayer.com into my name and purchased www.publicservantsprayer.org , with the latter now being my main domain. You will also notice a change to the design of the website. I am very grateful to my brother-in-law, Nathan, for helping me begin learning the language of web programming. There are many changes I still want to make and it is definitely a “work-in-progress”. However, I have been greatly encouraged with the ability of this tool in furthering ministry. There are several people at the Statehouse who download my Bible Studies when they’re not able to make it to the meetings. You can access many things on this website as well, including testimonials, Bible study notes, contact information, pictures, “who is your legislator?”, etc.

Churches

A significant portion of the focus of this ministry is to churches, helping them incorporate public servants into their ministry. We have been in so many churches over the past few months, and I am greatly uplifted by the Christians we have met who are wholly committed to Christ and want to see righteousness exalted in our nation. I am reminded of when Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah on behalf of Lot and his family, that God would not destroy it for ten peoples’ sake. We certainly have more than ten! We must petition the God of heaven to have mercy on our state and country. He is looking for people to stand in the gap. Will you be the one to raise the standard of prayer for our nation? Certainly our national leaders need direction at this time, with the many intense issues they are grappling with. Let us not forget our local leaders, from school board, to county commissioners, to police officers, to fire fighters, to military personnel - all these people that serve us need our prayers as well.

Ministry OP for YOUR Church

Hardly a week goes by that my home church of Hope Baptist does not receive a response back from a legislator thanking our church for their prayers and notes of encouragement. Several of the legislators even comment that they will be praying for our church! Isn’t that exciting? You can have someone spearhead the effort in your own church to start writing notes of prayer and encouragement to local, state and national leaders.

Children and Youth Ministry
I am evermore amazed at the opportunities for ministry all around us. While I realize every open door is not of God, through much prayer and counsel we have sought to discover how to concentrate our efforts for the best results. I have sensed a great burden while working with the leaders of today to minister to the leaders of tomorrow as well. Although we do not see this as our primary ministry, we seek to use the talents God has given us fully and be “poured out” for Him. In March my wife, Miriam, and I spoke at two children’s conferences - one in Hawaii (such hardship! ☺) and one in Indianapolis. A couple of weeks ago we were in Texas and next month we will be in Louisiana. We are thrilled with the chance to speak into young children’s’ lives the Good News of the Gospel. God has also opened up doors to us in a local elementary school near our church, for an after school Bible program. We saw several children saved this year as a result of that particular ministry. The fields truly are ripe onto harvest, but the laborers are few.

Provision

Some of you have asked regarding the recent headlines of an Indiana chaplain coming under fire. There is a lawsuit pending, but it does not involve me at all. The governor appointed a chaplain for the Family Social Service Administration. At issue is whether the state should pay for a chaplain for FSSA. I am not paid in any way by the state of Indiana to do chaplain work. God provides all of my financial needs through individuals and churches who share the burden of the Public Servants’ Prayer Ministry. Thank you to everyone who has continued to generously support this ministry. I recognize the sacrifice on your part, as we too have seen expenses rise with the heightened gas prices. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.

Prayer Requests / Praise Reports

• Shortly after the session ended we were notified of a group of Burmese children that were orphaned when their parents were martyred for their faith. Twelve of them will be coming to the U.S. as Unaccompanied Refugee Minors soon. Please pray for their adjustment and for the safety of those they leave behind. Obviously we are hoping to see all of them come to the U.S. soon. If you would like to follow the progress of these Burmese orphans, please go to www.rememberthose.org.

• Through a church’s generous financial gift we were able to purchase a car to replace my work car that died. The whole family can fit in this four-door sedan without expending the gas that the van takes. We now travel in it most of the time and are so thankful for God’s provision!

• There is a sustained interest in continuing the weekly Staff and Lobbyist Bible Studies at the Statehouse. Please pray for these individuals, as they are the ones that make the wheels turn behind the scenes in government.

Serving Christ,

Rev. Matthew Barnes

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